KIDS KORNER

Ever wonder what kids think about REAL issues?

This week in KIDS KORNER:  "If you could have any SUPER POWER what would it be and Why??"

Here are some of the wise responses...

Kaden- "skiing power, because I went skiing yesterday"

Jaelyn- "force field and invisibility, because its from the Incredibles and I like Violet"

Sean- "flower power, because then I can make flowers everywhere"

Angel- "rainbow looms, I could just put my hands out and it would be rainbow looms"

Chris- "lazer beam, so I have eyes that can see through stuff"

Livia- "if I touch anything it could turn into ice cream, because I wouldn't have to ask my parents"

Malia- "force, because I love Star Wars"

Trenton- "making stuff free, cause some stuff is really expensive"

Tune in next time for another gripping edition of KIDS KORNER.

If you have an questions you think we should ask the children on KIDS KORNER, please leave them in the comments below.

-Jason

Happy Chinese New Year!!

To those celebrating, even those who aren't, Happy Chinese New Year!!

In lieu of Chinese New Year, I thought it would be neat to base my art activity around this holiday. I don't celebrate Chinese New Year, though I'm told that I'm about 1/16th Chinese - if that's even possible, haha - but the first that comes to my mind is the dragon dance. The dragon dance is performed by a team of dancers who all work together beneath a dragon figure to recreate the motion of a dragon's spirit. This performance has always intrigued me; the colours, the precision and just the entire atmosphere around Chinese New Year celebrations, I'd definitely recommend experiencing it if you haven't already. Being in Richmond, we're surrounded by this rich culture so it shouldn't be hard to find all sorts of public festivals or celebrations. 

With the dragon dance in mind, I decided to put together our own dancing dragon. It was surprisingly simple too, and pretty popular! We taped a popsicle stick to our paper-plate-dragon-face to act as a handle. Giant googly eyes, mean pipe cleaner eyebrows and glitter glue definitely made for a very believable dragon. To recreate the fluid motion of the dance, we taped varied lengths of party streamer to the back of the dragon head. And so, voila! 

Until next time!

- Sara E

Clothes Pin Critters

This week some of the children at West Richmond did an art project involving clothes pins and paper. They made mini puppets, drew, cut out animals and glued them to a clothes pin. They were also able to cut out animal faces, giving the puppets the ability to open and close their mouths. 

In the picture you can see some examples created. When the mouth of the bunny opens there is a carrot inside so it looks like it is eating. When the mouth of the clam opens there is a pearl inside of it. A fairly simple craft that the kids seemed to enjoy!

-Aislinn

Kids Korner

Ever wonder what kids think about REAL issues?

This week in KIDS KORNER:  "What is one thing you would like to do this year?"

Here are some of the wise responses...

Alden- "wake up earlier"

Atreyu- "go to work with my dad"

Noa- "go back to skating"

Leo- "get free money, well I already get free money but more money"

Zev- "go to the beach"

Hugo- "play more beyblades"

Xander- "eat tacos, fish tacos"

Adrianna- "share and with it I'm going to help people too"

Tune in next time for another gripping edition of KIDS KORNER.

If you have an questions you think we should ask the children on KIDS KORNER, please leave them in the comments below.

-Jason

A Race for First Place

During this school year there has been a friendly rivalry between Dixons and Gilmores/ Quilchenas to win the race from their schools back to West Richmond for after school care. The two groups usually arrive around the same time after school. Gilmores and Quilchenas arriving by bus and Dixons on foot. When the Dixons see the bus coming they will run as fast as they can to the entrance of the community centre. The moment the bus stops for the Gilmore and Quilchena group they all make a dash to the door. Both groups try to line up as fast as possible to win the prize of being the first school to enter West Richmond. They use encouragement and teamwork in an attempt to get everyone in their group in line first. The victory is quickly forgotten once the kids are upstairs but most seem to enjoy the bit of competitiveness outside the centre every day.

-Aislinn

Graham Cracker Houses!

Hey OSC community,

With Christmas right around the corner, what's a better excuse to be able to make sugary treats to send the kids home with to get into the spirit? Haha, sorry parents. I decided to scale down the classic gingerbread house and make graham cracker houses so that the kids could personalize it their own way. We used Froot Loops, sour keys, and a simple icing sugar-and-water 'glue'. I didn't think I was that old until the kids started asking me why I was calling the 'coloured cheerios' Froot Loops... 

I started wondering where the origin of the gingerbread house came from. Good thing Google is so readily at our fingertips! The origin of gingerbread is traced back to as far as the 10th century from an Armenian Monk and so European monasteries were known to have been the first places to sell gingerbread. Although it wasn't adapted to its iconic shape and decorated with candy until it made it's way to Britain. Even then, decorating gingerbread houses as a seasonal household activity didn't become popular until The Grimm Brothers famous tale Hansel and Gretel.

I hope everyone has had and will have a great holiday!

Sara E.

Seasons Greetings!

Hi Folks!

It's December again which means that the holidays are just around the corner. The kids and I decided to get a head start on our holiday preparations. We made holiday greeting cards. Some kids got quite creative with their cards; there was even a 3D pop out card! I made a couple simple ones myself, just a few ideas for those of you that like Do-It-Yourself crafts and cards.

Happy Holiday preparations everyone!

-Katrina